Surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems are increasingly employed in warfare to counteract the use of aircraft. SAM systems generally utilize one or more missiles designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other objects, such as other missiles. The proliferation of advanced SAM systems creates an increased difficulty for military forces to establish and maintain air dominance over disputed territory or in air corridors that must be established for brief periods of time.
Current methods of countering SAM systems may involve the use of expensive, complex, manned air assets, generally referred to as anti-SAM assets. These manned, Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) assets often carry electronic warfare (EW) devices which are intended to permanently or temporarily disable the SAM systems by using directed energy to control the electromagnetic spectrum to destroy, interfere, or otherwise disrupt the electronic controls used by SAM systems. The directed energy may include, for example, radio frequencies, radar frequencies, and/or infrared (IR), visible, ultraviolet, and other less used portions of the EM spectrum. Examples of the type of EW that can be achieved include self-protection, standoff, and escort jamming, and antiradiation attacks utilizing devices such as Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) systems or other spoofing and/or jamming systems.
In order to properly counter SAM systems, the SEAD assets must be able to achieve a position that is relatively close to the SAM systems. For example, many SEAD assets must be present in the field of range of most SAM systems in order to initiate EW measures. Depending on the type of EW being directed to the SAM systems, the SEAD assets may be required to remain within the field of range of the SAM systems to sustain the EW effect for the duration of the mission. The SEAD (e.g. F-16s, EF-18Gs, et al.) assets are commonly large enough to be detected by the SAM systems, and therefore, are themselves threatened by the SAM systems they are designed to defeat.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies in the ability to conduct EW related SEAD missions without risking expensive, manned assets.